Visit the working studios and galleries in the Historic River Arts District of Asheville NC. Come to us first, see the 'About" page for directions and a map.

Our workshops and classes are posted on the workshop page and you may register there. Watch for new class listings all the time.

We are pleased to be active in placing original artwork in private collections, independent businesses, medical facilities and corporate collections. You can come to us, and we can come to you too to help you select the perfect art work. Make an investment in timeless original art.

LET 310 ART LLC TAKE CARE OF YOUR HOME and OFFICE SPACE.....our team of artists and decorators will turn your offices into a welcoming, soothing, and exciting space.

Bridget Benton

“I am intrigued by the idea that we live our lives and, for most of us, all that's left to mark our experiences and tell our stories are memories, a few photographs, and a few random objects easily discarded. In many ways, these images and objects are like evidence – all that is left as proof of our existence once the memory has faded.

I use found materials, maps, original photographs and image transfers, and even plant prints as symbols – letting them take on meanings beyond themselves. These symbols come together in layers of semi-transparent encaustic paint or acrylic collage to create narratives that are at once deeply personal and profoundly universal. Even though I often begin a piece with a general concept or focal point, I work intuitively, building layers. I am frequently surprised by the meanings I discover in a piece once it feels complete, and am curious about what viewers discover when they look into the paintings.”

Bridget Benton has worked and taught in a variety of creative mediums since 1988 including fiber, photography, printmaking, collage, reclaimed materials, text and performance. In 2006, Bridget was drawn to encaustic as a way of layering photography, fiber, and other materials in a way that was both warm and nuanced. In her work, Bridget uses unusual juxtapositions of objects, symbols, and materials to explore themes of home, connection, belonging and memory.

Bridget’s passion as a teacher is helping people discover and develop their own creative voice. An instructor at 310 ART, her workshops focus on techniques and processes that facilitate self-discovery and creative exploration. Her award-winning book, The Creative Conversation: ArtMaking as Playful Prayer, is a guide to creating flow in your creative work and building intuitive artmaking skills. Bridget Benton holds a BA in Studio Art and an MS in Creative Studies (the applied work of facilitating and engaging creative processes).

She Had a Morning Ritual, 24" x 30", encaustic with image transfer and found objects

To Know it by Heart, 10" x 10", encaustic with collage

Planting so the Heart Will Grow, 24" x 24", encaustic with image transfer and nature prints

Making Home, 10" x 20", encaustic with image transfer

Cauldron, 12" x 9", encaustic with image transfer

Heart In Hand: Planting, 6 x 12, encaustic

Nadine Charlsen

Art has always been a part of my life. My watercolors have something new to say to the viewer. Improvised on the urban landscape - gritty, stark, rough - engaging a deeper emotion - using shadow, texture, color, and glazes moving my art to a more complex tonality. My art evokes an emotion that helps you take the journey with me to that place, into that world.

My studio is the ever-changing world around me. I am an avid bicyclist, swimmer and walker. I do long distance bike trips and paint and photograph as I go. I love visiting noisy cities and bustling streets. Every day is a different wonder, a new world to live in the moment. My work is created from the occasion that makes it unique and with its own particular style. The style is a product of the time and place. The versatility is my signature.

My background as a theatrical set and lighting designer has allowed me to incorporate my knowledge of light and shadow, large and small-scale objects, textures and colors to culminate in the artistic drama I want the viewer to enjoy. My motivation for continuing to paint is for both you and I to escape for a moment to another place and find joy in reliving the moment together. I cherish my continuing fascination of the world and treasure my history.

Nadine is a resident studio artist at 310 ART with work space and exhibition space in the gallery.

ARTIST BIO

I am a baby boomer, born in Bird City, Kansas. I lived in western Kansas throughout childhood. My "hood" was a group of 11 boys and no girls. My father was an industrial arts teacher and furniture builder; my mother was a first grade teacher and oil painter. I grew up with a hammer in one hand, a paintbrush in the other and a tough kid attitude. Eventually I got involved in a large regional theatre-Music Theatre of Wichita. I worked as a scenic artist at MTW for five years and met many designers, actors and technicians from New York.

Not long after that, I moved to Brooklyn, New York and received an MFA in theatre design from Brooklyn College. I continued to work in NYC and surrounding area for 31 years. I worked for well known New York designers as well as creating my own set and lighting designs for Off and Off-Off Broadway. I painted murals for a variety of stores and private residences. My watercolors are influenced by my theatre design as well as my various art instructors and personal friends; Mario Cooper, Paul Ching-Bor, Antonio Masi, Tim Saternow, Chi Kaplan, Carole McDermott, Jada Rowland, Fredrick Brosen, Michael Burban and Dale Meyers. My personal photographic collection is where I find inspiration for my watercolors, and each is a unique image. My watercolors have received national and international recognition in the past several years. I am a life member of the Art Students League in NYC. I am also a member of the Salmagundi Club and the National Association of Women Artists. My watercolors are now available at 310 Arts in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC.Hear an online radio interview of Nadine in NYC HERE

Katrina Chenevert

Katrina Chenevert – Artist Biography

Upon moving in 2008 to Asheville, NC, Katrina embraced the Art culture prominent to that city. Her insatiable desire for “all things art” was stimulated after discovering the River Arts District (RAD). Her multi-disciplined creations are cultivated by both her BFA studies at UNC Asheville and through her experiences working with other RAD Artists. Nostalgia often drives her inspiration to paint but, it is the “theme” that drives what medium will be used in her final creations. Watercolor is her medium of choice in her “Sepia Series” paintings. These tightly rendered (often described as photorealistic) watercolor paintings are inspired by vintage family photos. The results from using just sepia tones are remarkable. Her ability to capture such tender moments of times long past has established a string of commissions from people who also want their relative’s stories told giving them a permanent presence in their homes. Her painting titled “Smoking Hot Women” joined the ranks of other renowned artist at the American Watercolor Society’s 149th Annual International Exhibition held in NY City at the prestigious Salmagundi Club.Her passion with 3D art has bred creations incorporating large canvases and mixed media. The combination or “assemblage” using multiple materials result in larger scale works. A piece titled “Iconic Decade” is a representation of 1960 icons finished in Pop Art style and stands 5’6”. These newest creations fall into an “uncategorized” style which has delighted the artist, “I love creating something that is unique and you’ll not likely see anywhere else.” These creations tend to have common themes from icons of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s and most recently, characters from popular hit TV shows.Katrina is certainly no stranger to painting with oils and acrylics. The majority of her works with oil paint is done using a palette knife. The results from using a knife vice the traditional brush create yet another unique style for the artist. Her work in acrylic often incorporates the use of fiber paste which adds an impasto effect and gives these paintings a unique 3D aspect. These paintings are inspired by photographs that she has taken while visiting in and around her home town of Exeter, NH. Each captured image is cropped in such a way to create an exclusive painting with a unique perspective.

Katrina is a resident studio artist at 310 ART with both studio work space and exhibition space within the gallery. The decision to take a studio space at 310 in The Peabody Gallery, feeds her already insatiable appetite for art.

Wake Up You're On In Five, oil, 8 x 8

Their Last Words Made Him Smile, oil, 18 x 24

Compassion, oil, 8 x 8

Bronze Wedge, Bronze & Wood, 10.5 x 13

Boob Tube, mixed media, 30 x 45

Smoking Hot Women

Ham Sandwich

Breaking Bad, Walt White

Charlie the Dog

Toasted Pop Tart, needlefelting & mixed media, 4.5' x 4.5'

Frosted Pop Tart, needlefelting & mixed media, 35 x 23

Porch Recliners, watercolor, 20 x 16

Jane Molinelli

Jane Molinelli began her work in visual arts as a fiber artist. She studied floor-loom weaving and tapestry weaving at the Penland School of Crafts, then studied fabric design at the Fashion Institute in NYC. While living in New York, she had a business producing silk batik as yardage for designers or for making into scarves or one-of-a-kind garments sold to shops and individual clients.

“I have always been in love with color, but the energy and rhythm that painting can convey has always intrigued me. At a young age, I began to gravitate to the contemporary section of any art museum I visited. The vitality, immediacy, and depth of emotion spoke to me like no other. My art is non-objective. Rather than painting a scene, capturing a portrait, or abstracting an object, I try to convey a moment, a memory, a thought, or feeling. My art relies on line, mark, color, energy, and rhythm to communicate with the viewer in an inner language without words. “

Website: http://www.jmolinelliart.com

Bare Bones Waterfall, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 42

Nothing You See that Can't Be Seen, Acrylic charcoal and graphite, 48 x 36

Garden Dance, acrylic, 36 x 36

Inner Map, acrylic graphite & pastel, 36 x 36

Breath of Red, oil with cold wax medium, 18 x 18

Seeking Balance, oil with cold wax medium on panel, 12 x 16

Fleta Monaghan

Listen to my PodcastFleta Monaghan is the founder and director of 310 ART. The studios feature a fine art gallery of original work, Spill Gallery, Peabody Gallery and the learning venue River's Edge Studio. Fleta's own working studio is nestled in the center of the gallery.

Fleta grew up on the west coast of Florida, on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. After traveling around the United States and living in San Francisco, Oregon and Virginia, she settled in Asheville, North Carolina in 1981.

“I have always been attracted to beautiful and historic places populated with interesting and artistically inclined people. After visiting Asheville briefly, I decided this was a perfect place to live and work. I love the thriving arts community, and enjoy working and teaching in a poetically timeworn 100 year old warehouse in the River Arts District of Asheville.”

The oldest of seven children, she began painting in oils and pastels at an early age. Her earliest works still in existence are pastel copies of Bottecelli paintings, executed at age twelve.

“I have heard it said that an artist only has to look at the art work they created as a child to see the directions and themes that will resonate in their adult work. That is certainly true with me. I experimented with all kinds of materials as a kid – marbling paper with oil paint, making handmade paper, drawing and painting and creating costumes. I would read about some new technique or see some interesting art, and the next thing you knew I was trying it out. Naturally, most of my experimentation took place outside! Now, I love to paint people I know, experiment with mixed media in my paintings and push the image toward abstraction. I am always seeking an essence of thought and feeling when I combine imagery with materials. There is an unbroken thread that weaves through all my work, no matter what materials I use or which techniques I employ. The Gulf of Mexico strongly influenced my visual, spiritual and philosophical senses as have the Mountains here in North Carolina.”

Enjoying both an urban and rural experience, Fleta works and teaches in her studio at Riverview Station near downtown Asheville. She and her family share a country home near the city with Peanut, the famous gallery dog, two cats, Jax and Vash, a feisty Quaker parrot named Elvira and a yard populated with hummingbirds, rabbits, opossum and deer.

Anne Allen

Anne Allen has always been intrigued with trees. Even as a child, her quiet personality and connection with nature led her to explore life in drawings.

“Playing alone in the woods was my retreat as a child. I carried a paper notebook, sized to fit in my metal lunchbox. Drawings of trees and fallen logs over streams were rendered in soft charcoal and colored pencil.”

Years later, Anne develops her art from small color studies often painted on location and from her own photographs. She often recalls being captivated by the dead trees and wind-blown juniper bushes in the high desert of Abiquiu, New Mexico.

“Georgia O’Keeffe country, as the locals all it, is stark and still. At 8,300 feet, trees emerge from the red desert like petrified men and women.” Always awake to inspiration, Anne is rarely without her camera. Photographs from three painting trips to Ghost Ranch in New Mexico (1999-2013) are pinned around her studio and the subjects of early work.

“My life in art is also is also influenced by an immersion in classical and sacred music beginning in early childhood. Trips to art museums, combined with early baroque music concerts on the terrace, continue to spark bittersweet memories when I am by myself in my studio. I often paint to classical music.”

Anne describes her painting process as contemplative. “I keep a journal. I reflect on a subject and keep notes alongside miniature “thumbnail” color sketches. It’s important for me to pause before reaching for a pastel stick. Sometimes, it is challenging not to rush into a painting.”

Modernist painters, including Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse and recently, Casey Klahn influence Anne’s thinking about art. “Introspection is looking at the olive trees rendered by van Gogh, or being absorbed by a forest of unexpected hues painted by colorist Khlan. I long to see my trees in the window paintings of Matisse.”

After satisfying careers in marketing and arts administration, Anne came fully into her art eight years ago. She serves on the board of the Appalachian Pastel Society where she is the chair of non-juried group exhibitions. She joined the Southeastern Pastel Society, Atlanta, in 2017. Her works have been in juried group exhibitions in Florida and North Carolina. Anne makes time to participate in professional studio critiques at 310 Art Gallery, led by gallery director and art mentor, Fleta Monaghan.

A recent accomplishment was “being invited to exhibit a painting in the Appalachian Pastel Society National Exhibition in 2017. Juror of entries and awards was nationally recognized pastel artist, Dawn Emerson.”

Anne’s studio in Western North Carolina overlooks a hillside of huge boulders and stately trees. “My earliest memories of carrying sticks of charcoal and colored pencils into a wooded ravine are still within reach.”

Deep Calling, pastel, 6 x 6

Green Cathedral, pastel, 17 x 14

A Tree Is Like A Poem, pastel, 7 x 5

Falling In Love, pastel, 5 x 7

Trees Tell Their Stories, pastel, 20 x 16

Leaf Libretto, pastel, 5 x 7

Sing For Joy, pastel, 2 x 2

T. A. Monette

T. A. Monette

“Creativity is my voice. Each medium of expression is a language of its own. Curiosity inspires me to seek depth in my creativity. Exploration of alternate mediums is the ultimate journey. Abstracted art through mixed media is the alchemy of my artful expression. I have a love affair with art and all things art.”

Monette creates abstracted expressive works using Encaustics or Cold Wax/Oil, most of which include mixed media. The most recent work involves ecoprinting combined with encaustic on panel.

Monette's artwork is derived from the natural beauty of the environment. The macro world opens up limitless perspectives and visual subject matter. Dreams of vivid color and elusive scenarios are fodder for the artwork. Sometimes just seeing the world through the eyes of the artist's pets sparks hidden emotions to express in art.

T.A. Monette grew up in the wide open space of the western United States, graced with monumental buttes and mesas. As a youth, the artist accompanied a beloved Great Uncle, a lapidary, on sojourns to his secret hunting grounds excavating geodes, jade, agates and fossils. Ecoprints, a natural process allows Monette to step into nature to collect her source materials which she transforms on silk. Oil on paper works reference this love of geology. With an appetite for the unknown, an artist's curiosity has been the motivator for travels and explorations throughout the U.S. and Europe. Living in the Netherlands and studying art for seven years altered the artistic path of this prolific artist. Now residing on the east coast of the USA the path through and inspired by nature continues.

Bet Kindley

Bet has a great sense of humor, but tell her a joke and she gets a blank look and says, “I don’t get it”, then laughs ten minutes later when she does. This is similar to her entry into the art world.

Having taught digital imaging, website development, and desktop publishing, her progression into photography was a given. So naturally, she began her artistic career as a photographer of realistic images. Her favorite subjects depicted her love of the mountains, lakes, and culture of Western North Carolina.

Wanting to take her photography to another level, she began incorporating her images into encaustic paintings. “I love the scent of the beeswax, the surprises similar to water colors, and the many ways I can use images in this ancient medium which is now so popular.”

“What I like about my new abstracts and monotypes is the way others interpret them. They see things in the pieces I never saw before. I incorporate both hand drawn abstracts and images from nature in my recent work.“

A winner of the Regional Artist Project Grant of North Carolina in 2015, Bet has used her new etching press to further her work in collagraph and monotype which she combines with encaustic in a new and unique expression.

“I have always said that it isn’t what I intended to say in the paintings, but how it makes the viewer feel and what they see.”

Bet is the director of Encaustic Classes at River’s Edge. She has no reservations about sharing her knowledge of encaustic with students. “I love it when students come to class with their own ideas. They inspire me and I hope I have given them a start on their own artistic path.”

Erin Keane

Erin Keane

“I am an artist working primarily with photography and encaustic beeswax. Through my camera, I collect the beautiful colors and textures of daily life. When I take photographs, even highly abstracted ones, they hold powerful memories of when, where, and why.

I am especially interested in the elasticity of light as it dances around shadow and reflection. Capturing light is sometimes ethereal and sometimes edgy. It is intriguing how the camera lens “sees” differently than the eye.

My method of developing photography involves transferring the ink from my prints onto cradled panels and saturating with encaustic. This creates soft imagery with a luminous glow and aromatic scent of beeswax.

The transfer process makes me feel connected to my artwork. My hands are on every print, smoothing and burnishing and revealing the final imagery. The rhythm becomes a moving meditation. Each transfer is unique, an absolute one of a kind. The transfer process literally transforms the original image into something new.

Layers of encaustic illuminate the imagery and lend visual depth and texture to the photographs. It is the perfect finishing touch. Beeswax has a very sensuous surface, yet it is also highly archival and durable.

In addition to encaustic, I am also a bookbinder. For years encaustic and bookbinding were separate entities in my life, the art and the craft, the experimental and the meditative, and I craved a convergence. My encaustic journals are designed to honor books as an art form.”

Erin studied art at Miami University, Ohio, and graduated with an M.A. in Art Education. She moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains and taught at Brevard Middle School earning National Board Certification in Visual Arts. In 2011, she moved into a new career stage, becoming a professional artist and instructor. She is a member of Southern Highland Craft Guild and her art is represented by 310 ART in Asheville, NC, where she also teaches classes.

Gretchen Chadwick

The sensual qualities and processes of nature are the inspiration for Gretchen Chadwick's work. Her oil paintings are characterized by flowing, organic form and pure, vibrant colors. They range from highly representational to complete abstraction, often using flowers, plants, or leaves as subject matter. Her oil and cold wax abstract paintings reflect a fascination with layers, texture, and unusual color combinations.

Chadwick received her formal art training at the Brandywine Atelier in Kennet Square, PA, where she studied Classical Realism with renowned painter, Neilson Carlin. In 2013, she received a Master's degree in Transpersonal Psychology, with a specialization in Creativity and Innovation, from Sofia University.

Gretchen is a resident studio artists at 310 ART with both work space and exhibition space in the gallery.

Winter Window, 40 x 30, oil & cold wax on wood

Evening Cinders, 24 x 18, oil & cold wax on wood

Space Dust, 18 x 24

Ice Cave, 24 x 20

Sunset Smoke, 24 x 18, oil & cold wax on wood

Morning Haze, 24 x 18, oil & cold wax on wood

Afternoon Ashes, 24 x 18, oil & cold wax on wood

Olga Yukhno

Olga is originally from Russia, where her passion for art began. Inspired by the culture of her home country, she took up several art forms, primarily enameling, before moving to the United States in 2008. There, she no longer had the tools needed for enameling, and quickly developed a love for ceramic sculpting. She loves working with clay because it allows her as an artist to create anything she can imagine. Her recent work ranges from jewelry to Native American inspired wall hangings to internationally inspired masks. All of her pieces are uniquely and intricately formed by hand, and no two pieces are ever the same. Their one of a kind forms, and vibrant and varied coloration make them a very original addition to any art or jewelry collection.

Mandala 2, clay and mixed media

Mandala 6, clay and mixed media

Mandala 8, clay and mixed media

Michelle Belto

Known internationally for her art, published books and teaching, Belto has a former life in theater and dance. The relationships between sculpture and performance are best described in her own words."My best work has always had the components of image, story and dance. Without the immediacy of live performance, I’ve had to wrestle with the limits of the visual form. How was I to incorporate narrative in my abstract work or to provide a feeling of movement in what is basically a two-dimensional static image? My questions and my ensuing study led me to paper and wax as mediums of choice. Paper is such an organic material. Its ability to be transformed from grass into pulp into canvas speaks of history and process. Wax, in its molten state, incorporates movement as an essential quality in both application and essence."

Michelle Belto teaches and exhibits internationally, and has an ongoing teaching and exhibiting relationship at 310 ART in Asheville, NC.

Step by Step, encaustic & mixed media on artist made paper

Old World Memory, encaustic & mixed media on panel, 12 x 12

Mountain Tapestry, encaustic & mixed media on panel, 10 x 10

Cindy Walton

As a native of St. Petersburg, Florida and a twenty five-year resident of the mountains of Western North Carolina, I am influenced by personalities, emotions, images and colors associated with these locals which are distinctive in character and environment. I have over the years developed highly personal perceptions and highly personalized techniques. Applying all I've learned, I seek to project authentic intimate interpretations of the world as I encounter it, coast and mountain, past and present.

Lorelle Bacon

"First of all, I paint because I must... It's as much a part of me as breathing. If life gets in the way, and I don't have time to paint, I soon feel out of sorts and disconnected. So I paint and then I feel whole once more.

I am a self taught artist who learned much by trial and error. Because I had to work through problems while creating, it helped me to understand what new students go through, so I am better equipped to help them. Next to creating my own work, I enjoy teaching others. What a joy it is to see that sparkle of understanding in their eyes! I'm proud to say that in 25 years of teaching art, I have never had a failure!!

As a side note, I was also nominated 5 years in a row for the prestigious "Friends of the Arts Award" in the arts education category. A highlight of my career was to have a piece accepted for an exhibit in Nagano, Japan during the Winter Olympics, which then was part of a traveling exhibit for 6 months.

I enjoy all aspects of the painting process, no matter the subject or medium, but it pleases me most to paint portraits of people and animals. My goal is to capture that innate spirit that makes up the personality of each individual. I truly believe that the eyes are the pathway to the soul. Get that right and the rest is easy!!"

Lorelle Bacon is lead teacher in our Studio program and frequently teaches workshops in all subjects and mediums. See the class descriptions for details of current classes.

Elizabeth Henderson

"I am a Visionary artist with a Surrealist cast. I call myself Visionary because my paintings evolve from visions of a central structure such as an architectural, biological, or purely geometric shape. Pictorial elements are adapted from icons, hieroglyphics, and other images in Aztec, Mayan, and Egyptian art. I am interested in ancient architecture, textile, painting, and sculpture. For my flowers and trees, I borrow heavily from Celtic, French, and English medieval manuscripts.

I feel my art is imbued with Surrealism because I am channeling my unconscious life. I seem to be work out some life issue pictorially. I rarely am able to catch my dreams, but you might say they are like waking dreams.

Currently, I am working in watercolor and acrylic on paper, canvas, or wood.

My usual M.O. for painting is to make a wash of two or three colors, let that dry, and superimpose an ink drawing which I will then illuminate with color. However, often, especially when working on wood, I work directly on the surface without the ink drawing."